Floating photovoltaic power plants: A review of energy yield, reliability, and operation and maintenance

Technical Report · Tue Apr 01 04:00:00 EDT 2025

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2562745· OSTI ID:2562745

Selj, Josefine ^[1]; Wieland, Stefan ^[2]; Tsanakas, Ioannis ^[3]; van Sark, Wilfried ^[4]; Roosloot, Nathan ^[1]; Otnes, Gaute ^[1]; Nysted, Vilde ^[1]; de Jong, Minne ^[5]; Kroon, Jan ^[6]; Micheli, Leonardo ^[7]; Golroodbari, Sara ^[4]; Reise, Christian ^[2]; Heimsath, Anna ^[2]; Beinert, Andreas ^[2]; Gertig, Christian ^[8]; Stein, Joshua ^[9]; Anderson, Kevin Scott ^[9]; Munoz, Emilio ^[10]; Berwind, Matthew ^[2]; Jensen, Adam R. ^[11] ; Rodriguez gallegos, Carlos ^[12]; Gandhi, Oktoviano ^[12]; Vinayagam, Lokesh ^[12]; Makris, Theodoros ^[13]; Hadrich, Ingrid ^[2]; Reichel, Christian ^[2]; Ravindrababu, Suraj ^[2]

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1. Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Halden (Norway)
2. Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), Freiburg (Germany)
3. Institut National de L'énergie Solaire (INES), Le Bourget-du-Lac (France)
4. Utrecht University (Netherlands)
5. TNO, Eindhoven (Netherlands)
6. TNO, Petten (Netherlands)
7. Sapienza Univ. of Rome (Italy)
8. Everoze, Bristol (United Kingdom)
9. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
10. Univ. of Jaen (Spain)
11. Technical Univ. of Denmark, Copenhagen (Denmark)
12. Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERI)
13. RWE Power AG, Essen (Germany)

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are essential for the transition to sustainable energy, reducing fossil fuel dependence and mitigating climate change. Although PV requires minimal land area — PV can meet the European Union's energy needs using only 0.26% of its land — space for deployment is often scarce in densely populated regions. Floating photovoltaics (FPV) offer an effective solution to land-use challenges by installing PV systems on floating structures in water bodies. FPV is a growing niche within PV with a cumulative installed capacity reaching 7.7 GW globally by 2023. Almost 90% of the installed FPV capacity is in Asia, with close to 50% of in China alone, while the Netherlands and France are the largest markets outside Asia. FPV shows strong potential to support climate targets, but still faces challenges like regulatory barriers, cost competitiveness compared to ground-based PV (GPV), and uncertainties about environmental impacts and system reliability. FPV systems are currently installed mainly on sheltered inland waters, such as quarry lakes, irrigation ponds and reservoirs. FPV technical standards are still being developed. Guidelines have been published by the World Bank, DNV, and Solar Power Europe, and emerging national standards from South Korea, China, and Singapore address design, components, and safety. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is working on formal standards for floats, mooring systems, and electrical connectors. However, the published best practices lack quantitative guidance for yield modelling and reliability, which this report aims to address. It provides data-driven insights, models, and parameters essential for accurate energy yield, reliability, and maintenance predictions over FPV systems' lifetimes.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office; German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK); Research Council of Norway; Danish Energy Agency
• DOE Contract Number: NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 2562745
• Report Number(s): SAND--2025-04732R
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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14 SOLAR ENERGY